The mother of a Northcott client at Dubbo has slammed the organisation for giving just one month’s notice of its intended closure in the city.
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Jennifer Cannon-Galvin said people with a disability and their families should have received at least three months’ notice so there could be a “proper transition” to alternative services.
Northcott CEO Kerry Stubbs defended the organisation, saying it stood by its commitment to keep appropriate services in place to support its customers beyond the planned closing date of March 15 as they transitioned to a new provider.
Ms Cannon-Galvin’s son Rhys Berry, 33, has been a client of Northcott for 15 years and has a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan.
He's a man who loves being “out and about”, Zumba and trips to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, his mum reports.
Going to Northcott five days a week, it became a “home away from home” for her son.
Ms Cannon-Galvin said she was “devastated” to learn of the impending closure.
How people could be treated with such disrespect and clients particularly with no care by management making that decision, to give a month’s notice.
- Jennifer Cannon-Galvin, mum of Northcott client Rhys
She contested it was “unethical” not to have a “professional transition” of at least three months.
“How people could be treated with such disrespect and clients particularly with no care by management making that decision, to give a month’s notice,” Ms Cannon-Galvin said.
Since the announcement, the mum has had to turn her attention to establishing Rhys’s new program while juggling full-time work.
The task involved looking at other services and going through his entire NDIS funding with his coordinator and matching that to the services Rhys needed, she said.
The mother questioned whether Northcott understood.
“Perhaps the decision makers in Northcott are so far removed from face-to-face service provision, that they don’t have a clue about the impact they’ve had on this community,” Ms Cannon-Galvin said.
In response, the Northcott CEO defended the handling of the closure.
“We understand that the decision to close our Dubbo services has been difficult for our customers and the community, which is why it was not made lightly,” she said.
“Northcott’s priority has always been assisting our customers to find alternative providers to best support their needs, and all but a few have already done this.
“We stand by our commitment that we will keep appropriate services in place to support any of our customers beyond the planned closing date of 15 March as they transition to a new provider.
“At this stage, it appears this may apply to a few customers and arrangements have already been put in place to support them.”
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